The battle for the best sushi restaurant in Moscow begins
Idaho is known for many things, like potatoes, wheat and huckleberries. However, the state is not known for its great seafood. Seeing as the closest ocean is an entire state away, most of our fish comes from local rivers and hatcheries.
This, however, doesn’t mean finding delicious sushi is a difficult task. In fact, Moscow has two restaurants, Red Bento and Tokyo Seoul, which serve ridiculously yummy sushi rolls.
Claire Whitley | Rawr
But which place is the best place to go on the regular for some spicy tuna or some raw salmon? I decided to take the bait and start fishing for the best sushi in Moscow.
Red Bento
Once I moved to Moscow, one of the first things I heard was that Red Bento was a must try place for any UI student. I decided to go with a date and partake in their legendary food.
Upon arrival, the place seemed small and in need of an updated look. The tables weren’t stable, some of the booths were ripped and the old Coca-Cola signs didn’t match the look of the servers, who were dressed nicely in all black.
Two men were hard at work making sushi rolls at the open bar and servers bustled around the eatery. The place was busy, especially for a Monday night. Students and families were talking and enjoying themselves. The tan walls reminded me of a dive restaurant in a large city.
When my boyfriend and I were seated, a server brought us water and a cup of miso soup. The miso tasted pretty good, but was almost too hot to drink.
Then, another server came to our table five minutes after the first one and asked us for our drink orders. I ordered their $6 plum wine sake and my date stuck with water. The sake came in a tiny container with only one little cup, which I don’t think equaled a glass. In other words, it was over priced for being their cheapest plum wine.
I ordered a half and half roll and chose half a salmon roll and half a Philly roll, made of salmon, cream cheese and avocado rolled in rice and seaweed. I then ordered the Red Snow on Mount Fuji roll, which the menu described as a California roll topped with spicy tuna and seaweed salad.
After about a 15-minute wait, my sushi was brought to me. The salmon roll was okay and so was the Philly roll. It seemed to me that the rice was either really fresh or over cooked, because it was still warm and had a strange taste.
The real shocker was the Mount Fuji roll. What I expected to be a California roll with a little bit of topping was actually a mountain of food. My California roll was set on a large plate in a circle with a heaping glob of spicy tuna on top. The tuna was completely covered by a large, tangled mess of seaweed salad. It didn’t look appetizing and was difficult to eat.
After fishing my way through the mess of food I ordered, I received my check. The price of my dinner wasn’t very costly, but maybe that was because I had received some mediocre sushi.
It is possible the great Red Bento was having an off night. I see it more as the fact that Red Bento had been the only standing sushi spot in town, and had once been a great place, but has lost its drive due to lack of competition.
Tokyo Seoul
Tokyo Seoul hasn’t been around as long as Red Bento, and from my understanding, it has yet to get the word out that they are in business downtown waiting to serve some fresh fish.
My boyfriend and I, on a different night than our Red Bento outing, decided to take a couple friends and try out their sushi in comparison to the only other competition in town.
Tokyo Seoul is located in the same building as The Garden Lounge, which happens to be one of Moscow’s most popular bars. The restaurant and the bar actually share the same hallway, making it a nice place to take a date.
When I walked in, I instantly felt like I was in a more upscale eatery. The walls were painted red and the decor looked brand new. They had sports projected on a large screen in the lobby, there were Japanese lanterns hovering over the tables and a larger, open sushi bar where a chef works on the rolls.
When we sat at our table, we were given water and some menus. The menus were larger than Red Bento’s and just a little more expensive. It looked like their food cost about $1 to $2 more.
After sitting for over 10 minutes with just water, my group realized there was only one waitress. She finally brought us soup and took our order in a frazzled state.
After dinner I asked her why she was working alone, and she said usually the restaurant is slow on weeknights and they didn’t expect such a burst of people.
My boyfriend and I ordered a salmon roll, a Philly Roll and a Moscow Roll, made of raw spicy tuna, cream cheese, avocado and cucumber. It took about 25 minutes for our food to get there, but let me say, it was worth the wait.
The chef topped our rolls with a special yemmi sauce and some seasoning. The fish tasted really fresh and the rice was sweet and soft. Our server told us the chef was getting creative with the rolls. I applaud him, because our rolls tasted like sushi art. Our bill was higher than our bill at Red Bento, but the experience was worth the extra $5 spent.
If you’re looking for good sushi or a nice place to take a date, I would recommend breaking away from the traditional and trying Tokyo Seoul. It’s located right in Friendship Square downtown, near The Garden Lounge and the theater. Its atmosphere is modern and refreshing and the food is spectacular. Tokyo Seoul gets a five star rating in my food journal.
Danielle Wiley can be reached at [email protected]